Gubernatorial candidate Joe C. Avellone III stopped off in Fall River on Wednesday to talk about his qualifications to be the next governor of Massachusetts in 2014.

“I running for governor because I think my background lends itself to the big problems the next administration will face as we exit this recession and start growing this economy, and, therefore, I can make a big impact,” Avellone said.

Calling himself a lifelong Democrat, Avellone is a former Harvard-educated surgeon, worked in management for more than 30 years and is currently a corporate senior vice president of Parexel International, a global drug development company with 15,000 employees in Massachusetts and 50 foreign countries.

“I run a global work force in a large division of that company,” Avellone said, “I know what the work skills need to be for we in Massachusetts to compete going forward and to create new jobs here.”

The biggest challenge for the next administration is to bring new industries to Massachusetts and to provide the needed skilled work force to attract those businesses through the state’s community colleges and universities.

“Competing with the global community every day, I really know what those skills are to create new jobs,” Avellone said. “We need to do this as a state 500 times over and refocus our community and state colleges on the needed skills.”

His second goal is to control health care costs.

“We have universal health care and I think that’s great here in Massachusetts. It’s a value we prize deeply. I started out life as a surgeon and think it’s a right for people to have health care,” Avellone said. “But we’ve had huge health care increases in the last decade and well before we got universal health care. It’s squeezing our families, it’s squeezing our budgets, it’s squeezing our businesses and, actually, squeezing our state budget.”

This year, health care costs will represent about 40 percent of the state budget, Avellone said.

“That’s up 20 percent from just 12 years ago and it’s rising. So we’re not going to make any of the needed adjustments we need to make in work force development and education, transportation, energy and the environment,” he said. “We can’t do any of that until we control health care cost.”

On transportation, and, in particular, the proposed South Coast Rail, Avellone said the whole transportation policy needs to be accomplished incrementally.

“But incrementally doesn’t mean not do it, but make the steps and keep going and that means the South Coast Rail,” Avellone said.

With regard to the South Coast Rail, Avellone said the studies need to be completed and a multi-step plan must be put in place.

“It’s great to have the vision but until, like any other large endeavor, you get studies done and then the stages and how we’re going to fund those stages,” Avellone said. “I favor it but we have to do it in that order.”

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Several other gubernatorial hopefuls have thrown their hats in the ring.

Two-term state Sen. Dan Wolf, a businessman who helped create Cape Air, became the third Democrat to officially enter the 2014 race for governor.

Donald Berwick, a pediatrician from Newton and former top health care official in President Barack Obama’s administration has announced his plans to run.

State Treasurer Steven Grossman plans to announce at the convention that he will be running for governor, a political aide said. Attorney General Martha Coakley, U.S. Reps. Michael Capuano and Stephen Lynch and Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone also are considering entering the race. Incumbent Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick has ruled out a third term.